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The difficulty with sentimental items after a death

On Behalf of | May 15, 2020 | Inheritance Disputes |

In a realistic sense, outside of the cash they received, children often don’t really need the items their parents leave for them. Their inheritance may include a home full of lamps, beds, tables, chairs and all the rest, but these adult children have their own homes and their own furnishings. It’s everything their parents have accumulated over their lives — but that’s often items of little actual value other than the sentimental.

So why do these items often lead to inheritance disputes?

The reason is the sentimental value. One man said that his parents passed away and he wanted to keep every item that they owned. He had trouble getting rid of it. He had just lost his parents and it felt like these items connected him to them. He didn’t need those items, but he wanted them because it was hard to let go.

Now imagine that there are multiple siblings who all feel the same way about the same items. They all have their own artwork decorating their homes, but they all want that painting they remember from Mom and Dad’s living room. They all have their own vehicles, but they all want the old truck that their father owned, that they remember riding in as children. It’s the memories that they’re trying to hold onto, not the items, but they can wind up fighting over the future of those items and who should really get them.

If you find yourself involved in a complicated dispute like this, it’s important not just to understand why it happens, but also to know what legal options you have to seek a resolution.

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